Former hotel exec gets prison in embezzlement

San Diego  A former Westin San Diego hotel executive was sentenced Friday to nearly two years in prison for embezzling from his employer to fund a methamphetamine addiction.

Kevin Kelso, 36, who was the director of finance, had pleaded guilty in San Diego federal court to six counts of wire fraud. He admitted to stealing more than a half-million dollars from the hotel by swiping money from the safe while making change for hotel guests and opening a corporate American Express card for his own expenses, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said.

Kelso also admitted to similar conduct when he worked at the Ann Arbor Marriott Ypsilanti in Michigan.

Besides 21 months in custody, U.S. District Judge Dana Sabraw ordered Kelso to also pay $966,710 in restitution to the hotels, an amount that includes what he stole as well as legal and audit fees incurred during the investigation, prosecutors said.